Running head: COMPARE-CONTRAST

Compare and Contrast

ENG 121: English Composition 1
Prof. Heather Hubbard

Compare-Contrast

This is a compare-contrast essay comparing two different writings. The essays I chose to
compare are I want a wife by Judy Brady and Caged Bird by Maya Angelou. Although these
two writings are very different, they are also similar in many ways. I want a wife is a descriptive
essay, while caged bird is a narrative essay.
The difference between a narrative essay and a descriptive essay are, first, that in the
narrative essay, you will use your point of view to tell the story and in the descriptive essays, you
describe the person, the place, or the event. When you are describing, you will use vivid images
that refer to the smell, touch, sound, taste, personality, and behavior, or even, the persons job or
hobbies. You will also describe what you feel about the person. You will involve your readers in
the story by helping them see, hear, touch, and smell your story by using very expressive words.
A descriptive essay, will also, begin with an introductory paragraph and a thesis and includes
supporting paragraphs that focus on specific details that are being described. The story can be
either a true story or one you have made up.
When writing a narrative essay it should be told from the start of the story, and then
continue to cover all of the events that are important. Narratives also include a plot, setting, and
characters. A Narrative essay allows writers to express themselves more creatively. Though a
narrative essay might seem like a short story, it focuses on a personal experience. Narrative
essays use first person to communicate the author's views, ideals and recollection while a
descriptive essay will generally center on a single event, item, or location.
Both of the essays I chose to compare having a primary purpose for their audience. I
Want a Wife attempts to make its audience more sensitive to the needs of a working mother,
while, Caged Bird, tells the audience to free themselves of any type of cage in their lives they

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may be bonding them. Both are very catchy writings, and they will draw the reader in after they
read the first sentence.
Brady in, I Want a Wife, she is talking about the roles of a homemaker or a wife, and
her responsibilities. Brady wrote in first person, because she was writing as a man who wants a
wife. She did say earlier in the essay, she is a wife herself. Therefore, you knew early on that
she was a wife. Caged birds is an extended metaphor. I interrupted it as her encouraging
people not let situations in your life bind you, but to be set free. Many different things in our life
can be our cages. We have to decide, ourselves, not to let them hold us back. When I read these
essays and reflected on the different cages, I realized that could mean so many things in all our
lives.
Mutually both pieces of literature are great, although Caged Birds drew me in more
than the narrative I Want a Wife. These writings will affect each person that reads them in
different ways. You could translate both poem to mean so many different situations. It could be
a situation in our own lives, or just in the world around us. You just need to take the time to read
them and see how they have affected our world today. Brady defines a wife as a person who can
do anything, has superpowers, and worry about everyone but herself. She wants her readers to
respect the roles of woman and think about how they treat their wives. Caged Birds conveyed
the idea of inequality. While she talks about wanting freedom, there is still fear of the unknown.
The caged bird sings with a fearful trill
Of things unknown But longed for still
And his tune is heard on the distant hill
For the caged bird sings of freedom

(Angelou, M, 1983)

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In caged birds, she uses metaphors, so the concept of the poem is open, and each reader
can interpret it differently. It is up to the reader to imagine what caged means to them. While, I
Want a Wife uses a more humorous and sarcastic tone while listing the jobs a wife does. She is
not serious, because she is not looking for a wife.
I want a wife who will take care of my physical needs. I want a wife who will keep my
house clean. A wife who will pick up after my children, a wife who will pick up after me. I
want a wife who will keep my clothes clean, ironed, mended, replaced when need be, and who
will see to it that my personal things are kept in their proper place so that I can find what I need
the minute I need it. (Brady, J. 1971)
When I was contrasting the differences in these two poems, I noticed they were wrote in
two different tones. The tone in Bradys essay was biter, so it may have left the readers with a
bad feeling, instead of feeling more respect for their wives.
The main weakness in Bradys I Want a Wife is her tone. In this writing, she has a long
list of tasks that wives perform. She implies that wives should have more respect because they
complete a superhuman number of tasks. In I Want a Wife; Judy Brady rambles on about the
roles of a wife. In "I Want A Wife. This wife seems pressured with all the responsibilities with
lack of help from her Husband. This makes things very difficult when one person has full
responsibilities of everything. At some point when things get to be too much for one to handle
one must express themselves accordingly. "I can't do everything on my own and there has to be
changes made". Insecurity is something that comes within. Therefore the wife in this essay feels
she may have to do everything within the household for fear if she does not she has failed. In
addition, confronting her is not in an option because if she had at some point she would not have
the problem of having to do everything on her own. Lastly, the wife has no social activities

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outside of the home. She seems deprived of doing anything that would make her happy and have
a life of her own. For this wife to stay sane she must have time to herself. Who would not
choose a wife that does anything and everything and not ask or demand help?
In Caged Birds, Maya illustrates hopes and dreams for freedom and equality. The
repetition in the poem also creates a larger effect, and makes the poems words get into readers
heads. Because of the repeated wording, this essay stood out to me. Throughout the structure of
the writing, the reader can easily see the point Maya Angelou was trying to get across, and
readers can see the Freedom that the caged bird wanted so badly. She made many references to
this throughout this writing. This essay has two different kinds of birds to represent two different
kinds of people in the society. Angelou talks about how the free bird does not have a care in the
world, but she also talks about how the caged bird longs that someday he will be free.
Although these essays have many differences, they also have many similarities. Both
essays were about being caged or bound in some way. I want a wife, describes them as being
bound by the duties of being a wife and mother. They were bond by a cage in Caged Birds.
Although different things bind them, they both still need to be set free. Both of these essays
were wrote in the 70s and 80s. I want a wife was wrote in 1971, while caged Bird was wrote in
1983. Reading these essays will take you back to those times, and what it was like to be in their
situation.
Lastly, the Caged Birds essay kept my attention throughout the entire reading it was a
more enjoyable essay than the descriptive essay I Want a Wife. Although, I enjoyed both of
these writings and the message they give. Both of these essays tell a similar story about history,
at least from their eyes at that time. I Want a Wife is a great attempt at making its audience
more sensitive to the needs of mothers or wives, but I still think that Caged Birds did a better

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job at, not only getting my attention, but also keeping it until the end. I would recommend both
writing, because both have a deep meaning and gets you to start thinking about history.

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References

Angelou, M. (1983). Caged bird. Retrieved from

http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/178948

Brady, J. (1971). I Want A Wife Retrieved from

http://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/everythingsanargument4e/content/cat_020/Brady_I_
Want_a_Wife.pdf.

Connell, C. M. and Sole, K.(2013) Essentials of College Writing, San Diego, CA:
Bridgepoint Education, Inc.